Jaffar Khan (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

: ; born on 20 March 1981) is a Pakistani

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for the

Pakistan national football team The Pakistan national football team () represents Pakistan in men's international Association football, football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Paki ...

. He is the current head coach of Pakistan Army F.C. Jaffar played for Pakistan Army F.C. from 1998 till 2019. He was first called up to the Pakistan national team in 2001 and captained the national side from 2003 until 2013. Despite his lack of height needed for modern goalkeepers, he was praised for his shot-stopping skills and reflexes. He is considered one of the most successful goalkeepers to play for Pakistan. Khan also served as a soldier in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

Early life

He was born on 20 March 1981 in Paniala, in the

Dera Ismail Khan district Dera Ismail Khan District (Urdu and , ), often abbreviated as D.I. Khan is a district in the Dera Ismail Khan division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has ...

in Pakistan's

North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November 1901 from ...

into an ethnic

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

family. At the age of 16, he started playing club football with Khyber Club Paniala.

Club career

Khan was inducted into the

through the sports quota in 1998. In 2000, he kept a clean sheet in the PFF President's Cup final against Allied Bank, which Pakistan Army won 1–0. Khan helped them retain the trophy in 2001 until 2006-07 where he set a new goalkeeping record by not conceding a goal through 16 matches. In 2001, Khan reportedly received an offer from a second division club in the UK and also a first division side in Korea, but was not given permission from the superiors in the Pakistan Army.

International career

2001–2003: Rise to prominence

Khan was discovered by then Pakistan youth team and under-23 manager

John Layton John Henry Layton (born 29 June 1951) is an English former football player and coach who spent much of his career at Hereford United, both as a player and a manager. He played as a centre back. He made over 200 league appearances for Hereford ...

back in early 1999, and found his way into the Pakistan national football team soon enough. In November 2000, he featured at the

2000 AFC Youth Championship The 2000 AFC Youth Championship was held between November 12 and 26 in Iran. It was won by Iraq 2–1 over Japan. Participants * Iran national under-20 football team, Iran (qualified as hosts) * * * * * * * * * The teams that reached the semi- ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. Khan was declared the

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in a 2–1 victory against

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He started his senior international career with a tour of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 2001 against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

. He subsequently played at the

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South Americ ...

in 2001, and a friendly test series against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 2002. In April 2002, he played with the youth team during the 2002 AFC Youth Championship qualification in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. He was also called by the Pakistan national under-23 team for the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

. After participating in the

2003 SAFF Gold Cup The 2003 SAFF Gold Cup was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh between 10 January 2003 and 20 January 2003. All matches were played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Originally scheduled to be held between 26 January 2002 and 5 February 2002, the tourna ...

, he featured in the

2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification The qualification process for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup football competition began in March 2003. Out of the 45 AFC members, only Cambodia and the Philippines failed to enter for the tournament. Both China, the hosts and Japan, the reigning champion ...

2003–2013: Captaincy

At the

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America ...

in November 2003 against

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, Khan replaced

Haroon Yousaf Haroon Yousaf (born 10 November 1973) is a Pakistani former footballer. The versatile footballer played as a midfielder and defender. A former captain of the Pakistan national team, Haroon played 49 full internationals for Pakistan between 199 ...

as the captain of the national team. After playing at the 2004 Summer Olympics qualifiers, he took the under-23 side all the way to the final of the

2004 South Asian Games The 2004 South Asian Games, officially known as the IX South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 29 March to 7 April 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, the games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the U ...

against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where his string of saves gave Pakistan a 1–0 victory. After playing in the

2005 Islamic Solidarity Games The 1st Islamic Solidarity Games held in the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia from 8–20 April 2005 with an Olympic-style tournament aimed at showing Muslim sports prowess and featuring 6,000 athletes. Only men's events were included on ...

, he retained his captaincy for a three-match friendly series against

in 2005, later playing in the

2005 SAFF Gold Cup The 2005 SAFF Gold Cup was the sixth edition of SAFF Gold Cup. It was the second time the competition was held in Pakistan. All matches were held at the People's Football Stadium in Karachi. The tournament started on 7 December and ended on 17 D ...

and the

2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification The 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification was held in late 2005 and the final qualification round was held from February to November 2006 with 25 nations participating. For the first time, the defending champions (Japan), did not earn an automatic ...

the same year. He also captained the national side at the

2006 AFC Challenge Cup The 2006 AFC Challenge Cup was held between 1 and 16 April 2006 in Bangladesh. Sixteen teams were split into four groups, the top two in each group qualifying for the quarterfinals, and from then on a straight knockout contest. There was no qual ...

. Like several players of Army FC, Jaffar Khan remained actively serving in the

as a

Non-Commissioned Officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

and during the 2007–08 season, he received a summons to join the

UN peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the United Nations's Department of Peace Operations and an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is ...

operations in Congo. When he was away on military duty, Pakistan succumbed to one of their worst defeats, losing by 7–0 to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. In December 2009, at the end of the

SAFF Championship The SAFF Championship (erstwhile SAARC Gold Cup and SAFF Gold Cup), is the primary association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the South Asian Football Fede ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, Jaffar publicly stated his decision to retire from international football after a fallout with Pakistan's Austrian coach György Kottán, but returned later on captaining the under-23 side at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

. In 2011, he played at the 2014 World Cup qualification. At the

2011 SAFF Championship The 2011 South Asian Football Federation Championship, sponsored by Karbonn Mobiles and officially named Karbonn SAFF Championship 2011, was the 9th tournament of the SAFF Championship, which held in New Delhi, India. Venue It was originally ...

, he conceded a single goal in the three matches all resulting in a draw, failing to register the qualification for the semifinal round. After a series of friendlies against Singapore, Nepal and Maldives in 2012 and 2013, he played his last match for the national team against

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

at the

2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification phase determined the teams which advanced to the final tournament. The qualification draw was held on 11 December 2012, in AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Qualified nations ;Notes Format Twenty te ...

. He was ruled out of the

2013 SAFF Championship The 2013 South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly referred to as 2013 SAFF Championship, was the 10th SAFF Championship for List of men's national association football teams#AFC (Asia), men's national football teams organized by the ...

due to knee injury during a match of the Inter-Services Football tournament at the Naval Sports Complex.

Coaching career

Khan got an AFC License C and did a specialised goalkeeping course in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. He was briefly appointed as goalkeeping coach for the Pakistan national team from 2014 to 2015. In 2019 following his retirement from football, he became the goalkeeping coach for his club. In 2021, Khan was appointed as head coach of

. In August 2023, Khan was appointed as the goalkeeping coach for the Pakistan under 16 national team for the 2023 SAFF U16 Championship held in

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

Personal life

Like several players of Army FC, Jaffar Khan was still in service with the

as a

with the

Frontier Force Regiment The Frontier Force Regiment is one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the ''Piffers'' in reference to their military history as the PIF (Punjab Irregular Force) of the British Indian Army, or as the ...

, and during the 2007-08 season was called up to service for

operations in Congo. On 7 May 2009, Jaffar received AFC Distinguished Services Awards from

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

President

Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

during the AFC 23rd Congress.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Pakistan Army *

Pakistan Premier League The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ) is a Pakistani semi-professional league for men's football clubs. The top tier of the Pakistan football league system, the PPL operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the PFFL B Division. The ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Pakistan, Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized ...

: 2000, 2001 Pakistan U23 *

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Jaffar 1981 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Pakistani men's footballers Pakistan men's international footballers Pakistan Army officers Pakistan Army F.C. players Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers from Dera Ismail Khan South Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan Asian Games footballers for Pakistan South Asian Games medalists in football Pashtun footballers Pakistani football managers 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen